Braves News: Kirby Yates to begin rehab assignment, Soroka return still unknown
By Steven Teal
Atlanta Braves fans have been waiting for updates related to two important pieces of the pitching staff and finally, we received some insight from AA.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard status updates on Atlanta Braves pitchers Kirby Yates and Mike Soroka.
GM Alex Anthopoulos broke that silence just a couple of hours ago after his conversation with Jeff Schultz from The Athletic (subscription required).
According to AA, Kirby Yates is set to begin his rehab assignment this Saturday, July 16th.
Yates signed a 2-year deal with Atlanta back in November 2021 worth $8.25 million. $1 million in 2022, $6 million in 2023, and a $5.75 million option for 2024 ($1.25 million contract buyout).
He has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery since March of 2021.
It seems that Yates progress in these rehab outings will determine what AA does at the trade deadline.
Braves reliever Kirby Yates will begin his rehab assignment Saturday, GM Alex Anthopoulos said. There's still no timetable for Mike Soroka. Yates' progress will give AA a couple of weeks to evaluate the bullpen situation before the trade deadline.
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzATL) July 14, 2022
If all goes well, I imagine we see Yates on the active roster at the beginning of August.
Not to be forgotten, AA ensured to touch on the progress of Mike Soroka who has been trying to come back from an Achilles injury since 2020.
On July 4th, we heard Braves manager Brian Snitker say that Soroka was “getting close” to starting a rehab assignment.
A couple of days later Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated Soroka was hit in the knee with a comebacker and it would delay his rehab timetable.
While pitching a few days ago, Mike Soroka was hit on the knee by a comebacker. It will slow up his rehab a bit.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 6, 2022
The Braves don't have a start date for his rehab assignment. https://t.co/H0zyQg9Snf
However, earlier this week on Monday, July 11th, Soroka threw a bullpen session in Florida alongside Kirby Yates.
No updates on how that session went but I’m gonna assume they’re just being cautious with Soroka and not wanting to rush anything.
It would be nice to have Soroka back in this rotation and strengthen the Atlanta starting staff but we definitely don’t want to see Mike go down again by running him back into Major League action too soon.
I, for one, am anxiously awaiting Mike’s return. He has such a bright future ahead of him and you hate to see injuries get in the way of that future.
Yates will be a welcome sight to this bullpen as well. However, we all know these things can change at any moment.
So I’m holding my breath until I see each of these guys take the mound in a Braves uniform.
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